ENGLAND

Besides London there are many more places of interest in Britain which are worth seeing.

SEASIDE AND SPA RESORTS

    The English countryside is full of peaceful harbour-towns with fishing boats, yachts, cottages and the English like to spend their holidays here. Resorts such as Brighton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Blackpool, Sunderland or Scarborough have fine sandy beaches and a nice atmosphere.

BATH

    Bath has been one of the oldest spas in the valley of the river Avon since the Romans built baths there. Many attractive spa houses were built here in the 18th century.

BLACKPOOL

   Blackpool is probably Britain's most famous seaside resort. If you go there today you will find a very lively but, for many people, very vulgar town, full of bingo and amusement arcades, with bright signs and lights everywhere. You can walk along the promenade and stop to have your fortune told by Gypsy Rosalee, or buy candy floss or a stick of Blackpool rock. And if you want a souvenir, you might buy a hat with the words "Kiss me Quick" written on it.
   Though Blackpool did not always have its onearm bandits and its "Kiss me Quick" hats, the spirit of the town is probably not much different from what it was a hundred years ago. At that time Blackpool was at the height of its popularity. The railway had arrived in 1846, changing a small, middle-class health resort into a popular holiday venue for the working class.
At the beginning Blackpool was not very happy about its new clientele. It tried to keep them away from some parts of the town by making people who didn't live there pay to enter the area, and by making sure there were no pubs there to attract the new visitors. When the first pier was opened in 1863, people had to pay to enter it. In this way the town hoped to keep the lower classes away. But this did not work and so a second pier had to be built. In fact the town was fighting a battle it could not win.
    By 1890 Blackpool was attracting more than a million visitors a year. Now, like many British resorts, it has to face competition from cheap foreign holidays. But there are still those who like its unique, very British, seaside atmosphere.

BOURNEMOUTH

BRIGHTON
 

    There are hundreds of resorts, big and small, around the British coastline. One of the most famous is Brighton in Sussex, which is situated between the hills of the South Downs and the English Channel. It was first made popular by the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who built the wonderful Royal Pavilion with its Oriental appearance. Since then, Brighton has been popular with many generations.
    See also the pictures of the Chinese-style Corridor and the dramatic Banqueting Room.
    Modern Brighton is a fascinating mixture of the old and the new. On the one hand there are elegant squares of Georgian town houses, on the other ultramodern hotels and night-clubs. Because it is not far from London it is very favourite resort for Londoners, and it is reflected in shopping facilities, which are marvellous. Especially famous are the Lanes, narrow old streets full of boutiques and antique shops.
    But Brighton is best known for its beach resort. It has a very long beach, part of which was the first official nudist beach in Britain. It also has two piers. One of them is badly damaged and closed, but the other one is still open and there you can find such typically British seaside attractions as fish and chips stalls and shops selling hats with "Kiss Me Quick" on the front, postcards and, of course, the famous Brighton Rock (a kind of sweet).
    Brighton also has a famous aquarium and Dolphinarium. You can go to horse races or a cricket match or for a walk on the Downs, too, and there are lots of other interesting places along the coast and in inland. Brighton's nightlife is lively, too. It can simply be said that in Brighton there is something for everybody.

DOVER

    The white chalk cliffs of Dover and Dover Castle may be the first sights to see when you approach Britain by sea.

EXETER

   Exeter is the heart of the glorious West Country, a city where you will find a living market-place for both industry and commerce, bounded by some of the most beautiful countryside and coastline in Britain. Exeter today has much evidence of its rich history, and yet it has all the amenities one expects from a modern city. Exeter is recognised as the regional administrative, service and business capital of the whole of the South West, and tourism gateway for both Devon and Cornwall. Devon County Council has its headquarter here.
    The site of Exeter has been inhabited for over 2000 years. Roman occupation began in about the year 50 AD and Exeter became the tribal capital for the people of Devon. The most tangible evidence of Roman occupation are the massive city walls and the Roman Bath House, which was discovered outside the west front of the Cathedral. The Cathedral dominates the centre of the city and there has been Christian worship on this site for 1300 years - there is evidence that there was a monastery here or nearby as early as 670 AD.
   There are many other beautiful and interesting historical sites in Exeter. The Guildhall, in the High Street, the oldest street in the city, is reputed to be the oldest municipal building still in full civic use in England. The existing building dates from 1330, although the Tudor frontage was not added until 1593. A few yards from the Guildhall there is Parliament Street, reputed to be the narrowest street in the world. St. Nicholas Priory in Mint Lane is a unique monastic guest-house and represents a fine example of medieval architecture. Another survivor from medieval times is the system of underground passages which were constructed about 1200 to supply water to the city, and it is possible to walk along the water courses under the High Street. Further glimpses of the past can be found in Exeter's museums.
   Exeter is a cultural centre for the South West and has its own theatre, situated on the University's campus. The Exeter Festival has grown into a major, and extremely popular, event with a two week programme of concerts, exhibitions and craft fairs.

FOLKESTONE

    Folkestone (45,000) is the port and resort on the south coast where the terminal for the Channel Tunnel, leading to Calais, is situated.

PLYMOUTH

   Plymouth is a large port on the south of Britain. A lot of military ships including nuclear submarines can be seen there if you take a boat trip. Plymouth has always been a port and its history is connected with a lot of famous or important moments of British as well as world history. From here, just for a few examples: Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world; the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to make the first settlement in New England in America; Captain James Cook sailed on his three great voyages to explore the Pacific and discover Australia; Admiral Lord Nelson sailed from here - and there are many more examples.
Francis Drake lived in the 16^th century during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In those days England and Spain were enemies. Francis Drake was a great seamen and a pirate supported secretly by the Queen. He sailed around the globe aboard the Golden Hind, attacked Spanish ships everywhere and shared the treasures he gained with the Queen. As a reward the Queen conferred a knighthood on him.
    The Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth in 1620 on the ship called the Mayflower. They left the country for religious reasons to begin a new life in America. The ship was small and there were 102 passengers on the board, so they couldn't take much food with them. They landed in the New World in autumn and only half of them survived the first winter. The next year the Indians helped them get enough food for the coming winter time. The Pilgrim Fathers were happy and organized a party to thank God for everything. It was the first Thanksgiving Day in American history. Today this real American holiday is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of November. But don't forget, it started in Plymouth!

PORTSMOUTH

   Britain is a country surrounded by the sea and so ships and boats have always been very important there - those used for everyday life as well as those used in wars and battles. As time went on a lot of them were changed into museums and, nowadays, can be found in many places along the coast.
   Portsmouth is a port on the south coast of Britain, where two famous ships can be seen. The first one, called the Mary Rose, was built as a warship in the 16^th century during the reign of King Henry VIII. Unfortunately this ship sank in 1545, right in front of Henry VIII's eyes, shortly after leaving Portsmouth to do the battle with the French fleet. The ship sank with almost 700 soldiers and all their equipment. For many years the ship was forgotten. The wreck of the Mary Rose was finally lifted in 1982. A large number of everyday objects was discovered in the wreck and thanks to them we can learn a lot about the life of soldiers in those days.
   Much more popular than Mary Rose is HMS Victory (Her Majesty's Ship Victory). In 1805, the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte attacked Britain. May European countries were already part of his Empire and he wanted to get Britain too. A lot of ships gathered on both sides near a place called Trafalgar. The British were led by Admiral Lord Nelson and the HMS Victory was his flagship.
The British won the battle in the end but Admiral Nelson was badly injured and died three hours later. Admiral Nelson saved Britain and became a national hero. His statue can be seen above Trafalgar Square in the centre of London. His ship is a museum now.    Restoration work goes on and people hope to return the Victory to her Trafalgar condition by the year 2005.

SCARBOROUGH

UNIVERSITY TOWNS

CAMBRIDGE

    Cambridge is in the east of England. It is fifty miles (80 km) north of London and it is forty miles (64 km) from the nearest sea. Cambridge is in the region of East Anglia. The river Cam runs through Cambridge. The Romans came here in the first century A.D. and built the first bridge. Now there are a lot of bridges over the river. Students of the university can study at the river, because it is often very quiet there. But in summer the river is sometimes very busy. People take rowing boats and punts on the water. Punting is very popular here.
    In 1086 there were only about four hundred houses in Cambridge. But the town grew quickly. In the 1300s it was a busy market town. In the years 1254-1554 the university grew quickly, too. Students and teachers came from Oxford and started their own university in Cambridge. The first university college was Peterhouse College. The Bishop of Ely founded it. He bought two houses and gave money to students. The college opened in 1284. In the old college there was also a chapel (a small church). People in the college built the chapel again in the 1600s. The first students often had lessons in the chapel.
    In 1300 there was only one college in Cambridge - Peterhouse. In 1475 there were twelve and in the 1500s there were fifteen. Today the university has thirty-five colleges, e.g. Christ's College, Jesus College, St. John's College, Trinity College (the largest), King's College, Corpus Christi College, Queen's College, St. Catherine's College, Peterhouse College (the oldest one), Pembroke College, Churchill College and so on.
    There are about 9000 "undergraduate" students at the university. They study for a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) degree for three years. Postgraduate students already have a degree and are doing research. They study for higher degrees. Some postgraduate will get a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) degree. There are about 1500 postgraduate students in Cambridge.
    Lots of students live and eat in the colleges. Some students have new rooms and some students' rooms are six hundred years old. The university teachers often live in the colleges, too. They give tutorials to the students. Tutorials are lessons for only one or two students. Students also go to big lectures in other parts of the university. They also have to go to libraries and bookshops, so they must often go across the city. For many students it is a long way and they ride their bikes. This is quick and cheap, and Cambridge isn't hilly. But it often rains.
    Cambridge is a centre for science and new technology. Scientists at the Cavendish Laboratory do research in physics. Cambridge is also a centre for modern computers. Sinclair Research make small and large computers and sell them to other countries.
    There is a famous hospital just outside Cambridge. Its name is Papworth Hospital and it is in the village of Papworth Everard. It is a heart hospital. A lot of people have got new hearts here.

FAMOUS CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS

    Thomas Becket lived in the 12^th century. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury and a friend of King Henry II. As time went by, Thomas and the king started to have different opinions and Thomas was sent to exile to France. After he came back, he was murdered in the cathedral in Canterbury on December 29^th, 1170. He was not forgotten as the king wished. This made Canterbury the biggest pilgrimage site in England. People wanted to see the place where Thomas had been killed and so for centuries pilgrims travelled to Canterbury from all over the country and abroad.
    Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a book about these pilgrims. Have you already read the "Canterbury Tales"? These are the stories which the pilgrims told each other on their way to make the journey shorter and more pleasant.

CHESTER

    The town of Chester with its picturesque black and white houses and old town walls is a well known tourist attraction in the North West of England.
    Chester has its origins nearly 2000 years ago, when it was the site of an important Roman legionary fortress named Dewa. The ruins of the massive stone Roman buildings survived to the Middle Ages. Two famous constructions that were left behind the Romans are the amphitheatre, built to seat 7,000 spectators, and the city walls, built for defence against the Welsh; these were extended in the 10^th century and surrounded the whole city. Large sections of the walls still exist today and visitors can walk along them to get a good view of the city centre itself and its surroundings. At certain points along the walls are towers for looking out. One is named King Charles Tower after Charles I. He is said to have witnessed the defeat of his army three miles away during the Civil War of 1642-51 from the top of this tower. Another later addition to the walls is Eastgate clock - a very decorative clock built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (after 60 years as queen).
    In the centre of Chester there are the famous 'rows'. They are a system of continuous, covered walkways or galleries built into the front of shops as first-floor level. It means that people can shop on two levels, as there are two layers of different shops.
    The buildings in the centre were started in the Middle Ages and were typical merchants' houses. The cellars were usually stone, sometimes using old Roman masonry (zdivo). Unusually, in Chester the floors of the cellars were not much lower than street level. Above the cellars there were the shops and above the shops there were the rooms where people lived.
    In 1278 there was a huge fire which destroyed many of the shops. When they were rebuilt, the galleries were joined together so that people could walk in a continuous line from one shop to the next one without descending to street level each time.
    From the early 16^th century people started to enlarge the living quarters above the shops. They were extended above the galleries and were supported by posts set into the street. Later small shops were built between the posts, in front of the cellars, at street level.

 
    Coventry (335,000), an industrial city in the West Midlands now manufacturing especially cars and bicycles, originated in the 7th century. In the square there stands a statue of Lady Godiva whose legend is very popular there. She was the wife of the Earl of Mercia (11th century). The legend has it that her husband promised to reduce the heavy taxes on the people of Coventry if she rode naked through the streets at noon. The grateful citizens remained indoors as she did so.
    Although Coventry has a long history, much of the city has been rebuilt after heavy bombing during the Second World War. One of the ruins to be destroyed was the Cathedral of St. Michael which was built in the 12th century. The ruins of the Cathedral still remain and they are often used for performances. But a very impressive modern Cathedral has been built next to the ruins and completed in 1962. On the outer wall there is a sculpture by Epstein of St. Michael and the Devil.
    Coventry and Lidice became sister cities after the war because they shared a similar fate during World War II.
 

HADRIAN'S WALL

    Hadrian's Wall is a part of the Roman fortifications built between 122 and 126 AD to protect England's northern boundary. Its ruins run 185 km from Wallsend on the river Tyne to Maryport in the west.
    The Romans came to Britain in AD 43. They pushed a lot of the Celts who lived there to the north and west and turned the country into a Roman colony for about 350 years. They called it "Britania".
The Celts pushed to Scotland didn't like it and attacked the Romans many times. The Roman Emperor Hadrian wanted to stop them and in AD 122 built a long wall to defend the border between England and Scotland. The Wall bears his name now.
     It took the soldiers nearly 6 years to build the stone wall. The wall was a part of defensive system. The wall itself was 5 m high and about 120 km long. There was a large number of guarded turrets, milecastles and forts along the wall.
    The Roman soldiers used the wall for more than 250 years. Then they had to return home because the Roman Empire was in danger and they never came back to Britain. The wall was built very well. The Romans left it about 1,600 years ago but a lot of it can still be seen even today.

HASTINGS

    Hastings is an old town situated on the south-east coast of England. You can meet a lot of young people there because there are many institutions which organize language courses for students from abroad. These young people come to study English there, but of course they have some free time as well. They can do some really interesting things in Hastings like visit the Sea Life Centre, ride one of two cliff railways, go to the Fishermen's Museum or walk around the old castle built by William the Conqueror in the 11^th century.
    Who was the man who built it and what happened on 14^th October 1066, which is the most famous date in English history?
    In those days the Angles and Saxon lived in Britain and their king was Harold. But another man William, Duke of Normandy from France wanted to be king of Britain too. He sailed across the English Channel with all his soldiers and waited for King Harold near Hastings.
    Harold's soldiers were tired because they had to march about 230 miles from the north where they just won another important battle against their enemies from Norway. The Battle at Hastings started early in the morning. Harold's soldiers were fighting bravely, trying to protect their king but late in the afternoon Harold was killed.
    The battle was lost and William, known in history as the Conqueror, became the King of England. He reigned for 21 years. As a show of strength many castles were built. The well-known Tower of London among them as well as the castle of Hastings. Hastings celebrates the famous battle every year with a programme of events and attractions which lasts for about a week.

KENILWORTH
 

     Kenilworth was a Norman castle which became a royal residence and now it is one of the finest and most extensive castle ruins in England. In the 16th century it belonged to the Earl of Leicester who entertained Elizabeth I here. It was dismantled in the 17th century. Walter Scott set one of his novels in this castle.

 
    Salisbury (36,000) is the seat of the magnificent Cathedral of Saint Mary (built in the early 13th century) which has the highest spire in England (123 m). The Cathedral library contains one of only four copies of the Magna Carta in existence.

    Stonehenge, 8 miles north of Salisbury on Salisbury Plain is a megalithic monument dating back from about 2,800 B.C. The ruins stand in the centre of a huge circle 98 m in a diameter. The ruins consists of two stone circles and two horseshoes. The upright stones in the outer circle were joined by a continuous line of stones, which lay on the top of the uprights to form a circle about 30 m. But most of these have fallen down. Within these circles were two horseshoe arrangements and in the centre of the inner horseshoe there is the Altar Stone. The purpose of these is unknown but may have been ritual. Stonehenge is only one of a number of prehistoric structures on Salisbury Plain.
    Everyone knows that Stonehenge was built by the Druids. It wasn't. So we are told by the official guidebook to Stonehenge. The ancient Druids were clever people, but they came to British Isles during the early Iron Age, in about the 3^rd century B. C. Stonehenge was built over a thousand years earlier. Who by? Nobody knows.
Stonehenge was not built once, but three times over a period of about 400 years. Each version was basically one or two circles of stones with an entrance in the direction of the summer solstice sunrise on the longest day. In connection with their religious rites, the people who built Stonehenge used it as a calendar by observing the rising and the setting of the sun over certain stones from certain position.
    The stones used to build Stonehenge were brought from a long way off but not from one place. The routes are not known, but water transport was probably used where possible. Most of us probably assume that the stones were cut into shape with primitive hammers and chisels, but the experts tell us that they were pounded with hammer-stones. Some of the stones were clearly erected by sliding them down a slope into their holes and then pulling them up. The horizontal stones on top were probably pulled up a ramp.
    Over the centuries experts have discovered a lot about Stonehenge., but even so there is much that remains a mystery. No matter how it was built and by whom, one thing is certain: the people responsible deserve our sincere admiration for their hard work and engineering skill.

    Stratford-upon-Avon (21,000) is probably the secondmost visited town in England. lt was founded by King Richard I in 1196 and became famous as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. The top attraction is the house in Henley Street where Shakespeare was born. The house where Shakespeare later lived with his family and died does not exist any more, as it was pulled down. Now there is a beautiful Elizabethan-style garden in its place. In the Holy Trinity Church tourists can see the grave of Shakespeare, his wife and other members of his family. Then there is an old Grammar School where Shakespeare is believed to have received his education. Not far is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (1932) and the Swan Theatre (1986) overlooking the river Avon. The centre of Stratford is full of magnificent half timbered medieval houses which also include Harvard House, the home of John Harvard, the founder of Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
    About two miles away in nearby Shottery you can visit the House of Ann Hathaway, Shakespeare's wife.

THETFORD

    A small market town in the county of Norfolk was once the cathedral city of East Anglia. In the Middle Ages there were as many as 20 churches there - plus four monasteries.
    Today only three of the churches remain and Thetford is a charming little country town. There is the River Thet, but this is not really a very dramatic stretch of water. There are several good-looking half-timbered buildings which are now mostly pubs and hotels.
    Yet what makes Thetford really worth visiting is its association with Thomas Paine. He was born here in 1737, the son of a Quaker farmer. Perhaps the non-conformist religious ideals of his parents influenced him for he was to become one of the foremost political thinkers of his time. In 1774 he left both his wife and family to settle in America after he had spoken about the colonists' right to their independence (an especially unpopular idea in England at that time). In 1776, he wrote down these ideas in "Common Sense".
    A few years later he returned to England and, in 1790, published "Rights of Man". The English ruling class considered this book to be dangerous - an incitement to revolution. Fearing for his life, Paine again left England, this time for France where he became active in French politics and wrote "The Age of Reason". However, in 1802, he returned once gain to America and lived there in quiet obscurity until his death seven years later. It was a strange peaceful end for a man whose ideas and writings helped to change the way we think of politics and society.

    Warwick, the home of the Earl of Warwick(1428 - 1471) who was called the Kingmaker, a prominent politician of the War of the Roses. The castle and the town below were founded in the 10th century and enlarged in the 14th century. The fortress, one of the greatest medieval castles in England, was never breached, although it was partly destroyed by fire in the 19th century. Now there is a museum there.
 

    Nowadays, Winchelsea in Sussex is just a picturesque but small and sleepy village, just like hundreds of others in England. Walking around, it is hard to believe that it was once not just an important town - you could even argue that it was one of the prototypes of New York City - but a major port too. After all, the sea lies several kilometres away.
    But it hasn't always been. Indeed, Old Winchelsea was actually completely destroyed by the sea in the year 1287. To stop this happening again, New  Winchelsea was built on higher ground, with its streets laid out in a rectangular grid pattern around the church of St Thomas Becket in the middle. It was a rich and powerful town because it was a member of the Cinque Ports, a group of towns which had special privileges in medieval times because they supplied the king with men and ships for the frequent wars against the French. Effectively they were more or less a medieval version of the modern mafia.  
     Things changed with time, though. Winchelsea lost its contact with the sea when the river silted up, and the other Cinque Ports also became less important. The only one which is still really functional is Dover. John Wesley, the great Methodist preacher, visited Winchelsea in 1790 and is reported to have said how poor and sad the town looked after two hundred years of neglect.
    These days it is still a lot smaller that in its heyday and it is easy to see how much bigger Winchelsea once was. There are, for example,  three old town gateways still standing some way outside where the village now is, and you can find sheep grazing where people used to live - but it is no longer poor. Some of the famous people associated with its nineteenth-century revival included the painters Millais and Turner, and the writers William Makepeace Thackery and Joseph Conrad. A lot of the old houses are very impressive and beautifully maintained. No wonder that the website of the local Heritage Society describes it as "a gem of lost tranquillity in a busy world, where each house is a joy to behold and with a little imagination the visitor can feel the atmosphere of the past."
 

    Winchester is an ancient place, originally settled by the Romans, and evidence of its long history is everywhere.
Now the county town of Hampshire, Winchester was once the capital of a kingdom, Wessex, whose king, Alfred, is an English national hero. He fought against the Danes in the 9^th century, but is chiefly remembered for bringing prosperity and justice to the kingdom. His statue now stands in the centre.
    Like many old English cities, Winchester is dominated by its cathedral, whose oldest part dates back to the 7^th century and which was rebuilt in the 12^th century. It is the longest medieval church in Europe (the nave being 170 m long). Famous people associated with it include King William II, Izaak Walton, who wrote a famous book about fishing and was married there, and the great novelist Jane Austen, who is buried there. Her house lies nearby, among the buildings of Winchester College, one of  the oldest public (which means private in England) schools - 1382. In the same street you can also see the ruins of Wolvesley Castle, which was badly damaged in 1645, during the Civil War.
    Other buildings of interest include the Westgate, an old gate in what used to be the city wall, now one of many museums here, the City Mill, lots of old houses and churches, and south of the centre, the Hospital of St. Cross, which isn't a hospital at all. It was built as a kind of early old people's home and still has this function. Interestingly, any traveller can call there and will be given free bread and beer.
    The city houses a few royal palaces and other old buildings.

YORK

    York (population about 120,000) is almost certainly the most attractive city in the North of England and it is the residence of the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of the Northern Province. It is popular with tourists from home and abroad who come to learn about its history, walk through its old narrow streets and to see its many interesting buildings. The Roman came to the site of York in AD 71 and built there a fortress known as Eboracum. It was their northern military headquarter until they left in about 400.
    York became a city in the 12^th century and was the second only to London in importance and size. York Minster (the Cathedral of St. Peter) was built between the 13^th and 15^th centuries and is the largest Gothic church in England. The cathedral boasts impressive medieval stained glass, particularly the beautiful Gothic windows known as the Five Sisters.
    The city has preserved much of the 14^th century city walls and four gates as well as medieval streets called the Shambles. The excavations also revealed remain of Viking houses over 1,000 years old, now shown in the Jorvik Viking Centre.
    Among the city's many attractions are the National Railway Museum (opened in 1975) and a recently opened exhibition which shows life as it was during the period when York was ruled by the Danes and known as Jorvik.
    But York is not only a place for tourists. The city is the home of a famous manufacturer of chocolate, "Rowntree", and has a very attractive modern university, opened in 1963.

OTHER BIG CITIES

   Bristol is an ancient sea-port and a modern industrial centre situated 190 km west of London. It has a population of some 420,000. The name Bristol comes from the Anglo-Saxon "bricgstowe", which means place of the bridge.
Between the 15^th and 19^th centuries Bristol could claim to be one of the most important sea-ports in Christendom. Power and wealth came through the African slave trade and the West Indian sugar trade. The old cobbled streets would have been filled with native and foreign seamen. Today many of the old pubs in the city centre remind us of these old times with names like "The Naval Volunteer" and "The Ship Inn". In 1497, John Cabot set sail from Bristol and discovered Newfoundland. One of the city's most prominent landmarks today is Cabot tower.
    More recently, one of Bristol's most famous sons has continued the city’s sea connections. Isambard Kingdom Brunel built the first transatlantic steamer in 1838 as well as the S. S. Great Britain which is today preserved as a museum in the same dock where she was built. You can see another Bristol landmark built by Brunel here - the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the first of its kind.
    Today Bristol is home to Cadbury's, the chocolate manufacturers, British Aerospace (Concord, the supersonic passenger plane was built in Bristol), and Rolls-Royce, who make aeroplane engines.

LIVERPOOL
 

   Liverpool (775,000) is one of the largest cities in England, founded in the 12th century. It is an important port and the city of the Beatles and a well-known Steeplechase for horse racing.
    It began as a small fishing village in the 13th century. But during the 1700s Liverpool grew quickly to become Europe's greatest seaport.
    Now, the ten kilometres of docks aren't as busy as they were but Liverpool is still one of the most lively and exciting cities in England.
    For most people, Liverpool means The Beatles - maybe the greatest cultural association the city has. John, Paul, George and Ringo all came from the area and if you have ever seen or heard old films or recordings of them speaking then you know what Liverpool (or Scouse) accent sounds like - quite different from London or Southern speech.
    But Liverpudlians, as the city's people are properly called, are proud of being Northern and different from the people in the South. They like to think of themselves as being especially warm and friendly, and quick to tell a good joke.
    If you ever go to Liverpool there are obvious things to see: The River Mersey, a Beatles Museum, the Cavern Club where the Fab Four first used to play, new museums and shops where a lot of the old docks once were.
    And the city has two splendid cathedrals. The newest one is the Roman Catholic Cathedral which is a really unusual building. It is completely round with a road and a car park actually underneath. Local people call it "Paddy's Wigwam" - "Paddy" being a typical name for Irishmen (and typical Irishmen being Catholic) and "Wigwam" because the building is shaped something like an American Indian's tepee or wigwam.
    The other cathedral belongs to the Church of England - the Protestants or Anglicans. This is not such an interesting building but the view over the city from its tall tower is really wonderful.
    About nine kilometres away from the city there is the famous Aintree Racecourse (dostihová dráha) where the Grand National (horse race) takes place every year.

MILTON KEYNES
 

    Milton Keynes is one of England's few new towns. It was first planned in the 1960s when Harold Wilson was leader of a Labour government. It was supported to persuade people to move away from London which, at that time, was thought to be getting dangerously large.
    The original planners wanted to make it something very special. The housing was supposed to be cheap and energy efficient: the city centre would be "car-free, all-electric". A monorail was intended to be the main form of transport inside the city.
    In fact, the monorail was never built and Milton Keynes now has the same traffic problems as other British cities. Many people hate the place simply because it is new, saying that it lacks the character of normal towns which have grown naturally.
    It's true that the town has no historical character but it does have something else: everything there is consistently modern - the buildings, the parks, the statues which can be especially exciting. There are examples too of the original planners' idealism in such things as the Japanese Peace Pagoda and the Buddhist temple. Milton Keynes was always intended to be a kind of international city not just a normal English town and while it may not have quite achieved this (it's still trying to become a "city" at the moment) it does show what imaginative town planners can achieve if politicians are brave enough to support them.
 

NATURAL BEAUTIES

    Devon is the region of wild moors and granite blocks (called tors) which can be seen especially in the National Parks of Dartmoor (Exeter is the starting point) and Exmoor. There are numerous prehistoric remains. The area is known for Dartmoor Prison and frequent rainfall which gave the region the name "Mother of Rivers". Apart from its natural beauty the area became famous through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel "The Hound of the Baskervilles".